Sept 25 – Oct 2 2022. Six club members of varying experience spent a week based at the Temple Basin Ski Lodge doing a range of alpine activities.
Monday. Epic.
Five of us set out at 9 am to climb nearby Phipps Peak. Up the South face, traverse the ridge towards Mt Temple and then abseil down a chute and return via the ski-field. We made good time getting to the start of the climb and then split into one team of 2 and one of 3. It took 3 pitches and a long time to get close to the ridgeline. Lots of belays, snow anchors and waiting for climbers to secure themselves. The climb was worth it: the peak is one of the highest points in the area and we had 360-degree unobstructed views of mountains, valleys, rock and snow for as far as the eye could see. And not a sign of human habitation. Next was the traverse along the ridgeline to our descent point. This was tricky and the weather was coming in. We set 3 pitches along the narrow ridge and sidled along clipped into the rope. Stephen led and Pat cleaned up, Tom, Mary and I were in the middle. We got to the abseil point about 5 pm, the cloud was lowering and there was a bit of rain. The 50m rappel was done with 2 ropes, it was pretty steep and quite a leap of faith to go over the edge. At the bottom we had another rope-assisted descent to the top of the ski-field. From there it was a good slog back to the lodge, arriving about 8 pm, right on dusk.
Grasshopper: What lesson did we learn today, master? Master: Always take a head-torch with you and do your crampons up tight. You may lose many things on your journey, but if you take the right path you will find them again.
Tuesday. Tired.
Andy, our sixth member arrived last night. The forecast bad weather arrived, we split into 2 groups again and our group did some lead climbing and practised placing some rock protection on a nearby bluff. Andy and Pat went up to Bill’s Basin to play around in the snow.
Grasshopper: What lesson did we learn today, master? Master: After much exhaustion it is wise to recover.
Wednesday. Rain.
The morning weather was pretty average but we got out and walked up the ridge to the bottom of Bill’s Basin. This was a good opportunity to experience sub-optimal conditions — knowing that there was a warm lodge with hot lunch and showers nearby. We scrambled up in a strengthening wind and rain that turned to sleet. Andy and Tom continued to explore a snow cave in the basin, the rest of us returned for lunch. We spent the afternoon practising crevasse rescue rope systems with 3 pulleys to provide mechanical advantage.
Grasshopper: What lesson did we learn today, master? Master: We all get wet when it rains.
Thursday. More rain.
We sauntered out in the morning and put into practice that which we had learned last night. Pat was our sacrificial lamb as we set up a crevasse rescue at the top of a bluff. We successfully set up the pulley system and hauled him up the 15m drop. The spectre of cabin fever raised its crazed head around lunch time. Andy saw the signs early and shot out for a spot of ski touring. Tom started tying ropes to everything with legs. Mary was lost to a shawl induced torpor. I started writing this. Some time passed. We were saved eventually by the discipline of doubles table tennis.
Grasshopper: What lesson did we learn today, master? Master: Go with the madness when it comes.
Friday. Snow.
We awoke to 10 cm of overnight snow, low cloud and light snow. Given the conditions we chose to hike up to Blimit, a peak easily accessible from the ski lodge. We hiked up over mixed terrain to Bill’s Basin. From there we scrambled up loose rock to the col between Blimit and Temple. Visibility was limited but somewhere down below was Goat Pass and the Mingha and Deception rivers gurgling away. We sidled along the ridgeline to the top of Blimit, had a quick bite to eat then dropped down to get out of the fresh southerly. A sustained down climb on the snow brought us back to the basin and a stop off at someone’s snow cave. From there Andy picked up his touring skis and set off on his adventure back to the Lodge. Tom & I stopped on the way back to practice climbing through a couple of pitches as a pair, placing snow anchors, leading and belaying.
Grasshopper: What lesson did we learn today, master? Master: Check your pack before leaving the hut, you may find you’ve forgotten your crampons.
Saturday. Climb.
The forecast fine weather arrived, cold, still and clear. Andy our ski-tourer left this morning so we were back to 5. Our destination was Mt Temple, directly above the main ski field. We made good time across the ski-field and headed up ‘sausage gully’. The new snow was quite firm and we roared up the slope to the ridge, arriving totally exhausted. The view from the ridge was stunning, Mt Rolleston in all its glory in the morning sun across the valley, a finger of cloud trailing from a peak below. We made our way along the ridge to the summit, arriving about midday. Some sections we roped because of the steep drop off, but generally the snow was firm and felt very secure. Stephen allowed us a half bite of sandwich before beginning the descent — keen to get off before the sun softened the snow too much and increased the avalanche risk. We retraced our steps, and I discovered how exhausting down-climbing can be. I had become a quadruped, and experimented with different gaits, sometimes trotting, sometimes cantering as I descended backwards on all fours in a fog of steam and sweat. We retraced the now familiar route to the lodge in the early afternoon. Our alpine trip perfectly book-ended by two great climbs. If only the end-of-season bar had some stock left, I reckon I’d earned a beer. Whoa, what’s this? Beer and wine in the fridge! That legend of a man Andy Carruthers had arranged for supplies to be delivered before he headed home. Andy for President! And so it was indeed beer-before-gear, a little relaxation in the beautiful afternoon sun as we contemplated our return to subalpine society.
Grasshopper: What lesson did we learn today, master? Master: Life is beautiful.
Temple Basin Ski Lodge is a fantastic mountaineering base. A great mix of terrain at the doorstep and superb accommodation and food provided by the friendly staff. We had a fantastic week in a stunning location.
Owen Lynch — October 2022